Vincenzo Di Matteo – författare

Since its first application, microdialysis has become incredibly popular to study brain function and has been applied with success in different fields from psychopharmacology, neurobiology, and physiology in animals and also humans. Microdialysis Techniques in Neuroscience focuses on the practical aspects of microdialysis in animal and human, highlighting current technical limitations and providing a vision of what is yet to come for the determination of the most disparate compounds in the brain. The book’s contents range from new techniques for detection and quantifying the release of several different neurotransmitters in vitro and in vivo, even in freely moving animals, to sophisticated use of reverse dialysis and the application of microdialysis in pharmacokinetic studies. Each of the sixteen chapters, in fitting with the spirit of the Neuromethods series, contain an introduction that gives a broad overview of a focused topic, followed by an extensive protocol on how the experiments are performed along with invaluable practical advice.

Detailed and authoritative, Microdialysis Techniques in Neuroscience will be a valuable reference for students, neuroscientists, and physicians for the use of microdialysis in the study of brain functions and its clinical applications.

This book provides a unique and timely multidisciplinary synthesis of our current knowledge of the anatomy, pharmacology, physiology and pathology of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) dopaminergic neurons. The single chapters, written by top scientists in their fields, explore the life cycle of dopaminergic neurons from their birth to death, the cause of Parkinson''s disease, the second most common and disabling condition in the elderly population. Nevertheless, the intracellular cascade of events leading to dopamine cell death is still unknown and, consequently, treatment is symptomatic rather than preventive. The mechanisms by which alterations cause neuronal death, new therapeutic approaches and the latest evidence of a possible de novo neurogenesis in the SNc are reviewed and singled out in different chapters. This book bridges basic science and clinical practice and will prepare the reader for the next few years, which will surely be eventful in terms of the progress of dopamine research.